07 February 2009

This is the final entry in Funke's Inkheart Trilogy. This review assumes you've read the first two books. If you haven't, you might want to skip to my thoughts.

My Summary. Inkworld is still spinning out of control. And Orpheus doesn't help matters when he rewrites the story to coddle to those with power and to make himself wealthy. He also hopes to control the White Women and bring back Dustfinger while destroying his worst enemy, the Bluejay, who is also Meggie's father. Meanwhile, Fenoglio is also rewriting the story in his struggle to make things right; he is especially motivated after the Adderhead comes up with a cruel scheme to help capture the Bluejay and force him to repair the White Book. Family dynamics, magic berries, giants, and words all play a part as the story comes to its conclusion.

My Thoughts.Inkdeath is full of action, and there are several story lines that must find closure. The focus of this novel shifts from a girl and her family to the wider political issues of Inkworld. I was much less enchanted with this entry than I was with the first two books. Although the conflict among the different factions is well developed, I was disappointed that some of my favorite characters and their interpersonal relationships were pushed to the side. My interest dwindled as I made may way through the book. Some aspects of the plot seemed to be forced; other subplots seemed to add nothing in particular.

If you've read the first two books, you must, of course, finish out the story. I tried this book on audio, and that may have affected my enjoyment. However, I am a fan of audiobooks, and the reading by Alan Corduner was very well done. I'm not quite sure what was missing here, but I'm not sorry to see the end of the trilogy.

The unabridged audio edition (Listening Library) was read by Allan Corduner, who did a fine job. Sadly, he had to come behind Brandon Fraser, who read the previous book, and I could help but feel thrown off by the new characterizations.

I read this book to meet a number of challenges (listed below). To learn more about a challenge, click on the title above the progress bar in the left margin.

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comments:

I really agree with you, Beth. I don't think it was just the audio. The story overall is much less enchanting and I think it was the focus on the wider political world that you mentioned. I think Funke's world got too big for her to effectively continue the interpersonal relationships and keep hold of the plot at the same time. It's a shame. I really liked the first two.

I haven't read any yet, so I'm lightly skimming through your review. I plan to go with audio for this series as well. Since the challenge won't end until way later, I've put this series on the back burner. Now all I need to do is avoid the movie...lol!

I'm reading this within the next week or so. Thanks for the review although now I'm sorta prolonging starting it. It took me a while to get into Inkspell and it looks like the same might happen with this one. :(

My daughter is reading Inkspell for the second time (to prepare for the movie) and is about to move on to the second one. She is trying to convince me to read them too, but so far I haven't. My best bet would be audio...its really disappointing they couldn't wind it up a little better.

*covering eyes and not reading review till I finish all three books*.....but I am marking this review of yours to come back to when I finish the books! I have a feeling that our tastes are similar enough that our opinions will likely match up. ;)

Finally getting around to read the other carnival posts. I have read Inkheart but not the rest of the series. I also find that listening to a book sometimes takes the enjoyment out of the book experience.

I agree. I actually could feel a strange pushing feeling on my chest where my heart is when I read Meggie's and Farid's breakup. I've been visiting many sites trying to find somewhere I can email Cornelia and tell her to WRITE ANOTHER BOOK! (an aside one of course) to give Orpheus the end he deserves, Violante the rule she deserves, Meggie's brother the name he deserves and Meggie and Farid the relationship they deserve (Doria could always go with Brianna, since he needs a wife).

Just finished reading these books and I heartily agree with you about the inter-personal relationships.

I did think that it was a faster moving book than Inkspell and I liked that the ending was clean.

I did also like that Mo chose Doria instead of Farid. I did think that it was odd though that the author slipped that out so obviously in the moddle of the book, instead of leaving us guessing till the end.

I couldn't agree more with your opinions, my heart practically shattered at the break up and I think it kind of ruined The third book for me personally after all that meggie and farid had been through together :(

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I'm a freelance book editor, reviewer, and journalist blogging as Beth Fish. On these pages, you'll find book reviews, book features, and other bookish content. I like to spotlight my favorite imprints and I'm a long-time audiobook lover. (I was the Audio Publishers Association's 2016 Audiobook Blogger of the Year!) Each Saturday I host my popular Weekend Cooking feature. Don't forget to look for my weekly photograph. You can find me on social media as @BethFishReads. Publicists, publishers, authors: please see my review policy. NB: I did not work on any book mentioned on this site.

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